Monday

Allen Mullaney is still sore after landing a 536-pound thresher shark during Oak Bluffs Monster Shark Derby on Martha’s Vineyard.

Allen Mullaney of Quincy is still sore after landing a 536-pound thresher shark during the Oak Bluffs Monster Shark Derby on Martha’s Vineyard.

“He was just a massive fish,” said Mullaney, 49, who reeled in the shark for four hours after hooking it. “It’s probably one of the hardest things I’ve ever done.”

“Two hours into the fight we knew we had something substantial,” said Christopher Jankins, who chartered a Cohasset-based boat called the “Castafari” with Mullaney for the tournament. “Three hours in we were wishing the line would break.”

The shark measured 16.5 feet, including a 8.5 foot scythe-like tail. It was the largest shark taken during the weekend tournament, in which contestants are judged on the size of their total catch.

Mullaney’s boat, captained by Damon Sacco, took second place on the strength of the thresher alone. First place went to Bob DeCosta, captain of the “Provider” out of Nantucket. His haul included two, three hundred pound sharks.